Joe Biden earned praise from Fox News on Thursday. Hosts at the normally right-leaning network gave high marks to the speech that the former vice president delivered at the Democratic National Convention.
Biden officially earned the party’s nomination this week and on Thursday, delivered an address that launched attacks against President Donald Trump while offering a competing vision for the future of the United States. After Trump and allies for weeks had attacked him as suffering mental decline, many said the speech surpassed expectations and set the stage for what looks to be a difficult re-election campaign for the president.
As Vox noted, the address in which Biden told the story of how he overcame grief from the loss of close family members to launch his presidential campaign was a “tour de force” that earned praise from many normally opposed to the Democratic Party. A panel that included Dana Perino and Karl Rove — both of whom worked in the White House with George W. Bush — praised the address as powerful. Perino said the remarks were “a home run in the bottom of the ninth” for Biden.
Fox News anchor Chris Wallace, who has in the past offered criticism of Trump and grilled him in a recent interview, said the commander in chief’s attempts to paint Biden as facing cognitive decline appeared to backfire in a big way, as he delivered a clear and coherent speech.
“Remember, Donald Trump has been talking for months about Joe Biden as mentally shot… I thought that he blew a hole, a big hole in that characterization,” he said.
BIDEN GIVES THE SPEECH OF HIS LIFE: ‘United we can, and will, overcome this season of darkness in America’’ — Joe Biden excoriates Trump, comforts grieving families, and offers a message of hope while accepting the 2020 Democratic nomination for president pic.twitter.com/x967hn5aID
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) August 21, 2020
Wallace went on to say the address made it clear that the attempts to paint Biden as ineffective and under the thumb of the far left will not be effective and that Trump will not be able to dictate the tone of the election.
Chris Wallace on Fox News: “an enormously effective speech” that “blew a hole” in Trump’s attempts to depict Biden as feeble.
“Donald Trump is gonna have to run against a candidate, not a caricature,” Wallace said.
— Michael M. Grynbaum (@grynbaum) August 21, 2020
In a live interview with Donald Trump Jr., who has followed in his father’s attacks on Biden as facing mental decline, Laura Ingraham attempted to press him into admitting it was a good speech that beat expectations.
Others noted that Biden came into the convention with higher expectations, given that his campaign has largely been shuttered during the coronavirus pandemic and has not held any large events or rallies. He has instead focused on online events and forums, with even this week’s convention being held virtually with delegates casting votes from home.